Verisimilitude
by Rowan and Sakura
Summary: Alphonse has his body back at last, but he and Ed never considered the consequences. Once again, they both must suffer for what they did not plan for, what they never thought would happen: losing each other. SPOILERS Ed's Side of the Gate


Disclaimer: Rowan does not own FMA and, incidentally, she doesn't own Verisimilitude either. The idea behind it is hers, though..."Veri", that is; not FMA (unfortunately).

AN: This story was graciously written by hyperdude, a.k.a. Dori-chan, to whom I owe my sanity (because writing this all by myself would have driven me insane...) This is the "brother" fic to Haptic; this is Edward's story. The story contains spoilers for the end of the series and some of the movie. There will be Elricest later on. Thank you, and enjoy!

_ Edward liked to think about what things would be like after he managed to bring Alphonse back. He could quit the military, and they could lead a peaceful existence as alchemists-for-hire, or researchers. Those times came as a solace after they were tired and pessimistic from the last false lead. The harder they ran, the farther away the Philosopher's Stone was to their desperate hands. _

_When they finally reached the Stone, it was unusable. There was no way Edward would let anybody, not even himself, to transmute his precious baby brother. Without Al, there was nothing. He couldn't let anyone know, but an alchemist with in touching distance could find out, so he ran. He ran as fast and as far as he could go, but that damnable colonel had caught them._

_Then when they managed to get away again, they were once again trapped. Trading blows with Envy, his mind could not focus with the red glow of the array surrounding his brother pulsing and wavering dangerously. As he reeled away from Envy in shock and an arm burst through his chest, and out the other side, his mind began to slow down to a halt. Even as he began to feel the warmth of his body leave him, the only thing he could feel was the horrible chill of fear and his mind screaming for him to snap out of it and get his little brother back._

_And then he woke up, alone. Without his brother, without Envy, just him, an incapacitated Wrath, Rose, her baby, and a large puddle of blood on the floor. The fear seized his heart again, and with a moment of clarity, he knew what to do. He made everyone leave, and then did what he did best._

_He clapped his hands together. /i _

**Verisimilitude**

Chapter One: Kiseki

Edward: Moeru you na yuugure ni terasareta senaka ni wa samekitta te no hira wa todokanai

Edward awoke with the sound of a tolling bell. He groaned, turning his head away from the sunlight that tortured him so.

_Sunlight _

He rushed to get out of bed, but he fell, unbalanced by the loss of his left leg. He crumpled to the wooden floor, and as he lay there, stunned, he faintly noticed that his ports were present once again, and somehow, everything seemed to be duller, like the color had been sapped out of it. The door was opened in haste, and a familiar smell of Ms. Robinson's personally made eau de toilette made its presence.

"Edward, are you alright?" That deep voice even had the gall to pretend that it's worried! He slapped the hand away sharply, and got up on his own.

"Get away from me you ba-" the room swam before his eyes, and he groaned, clutching his head. Hohenheim ushered him with a gentle reassurance of a parent that Edward had never gotten in his early years. In his delirium, Edward did not hear himself mutter.

"You left us…..why did you come back now?" he said lowly, falling into a light slumber already.

Hohenheim heaved a heavy sigh, and dragged a light blanket over his son's body, before laying a large, cool palm on Edward's forehead. He smiled, one that was bittersweet in its contemplation and complexities in the feelings of its owner.

"I came back because you needed me….and I wanted to make up for it."

In his sleep, Edward smiled, not a wide smile but it was enough to make Hohenheim's spirits rise, and hope for the best.

The second time Edward woke up, he was very much aware of his new predicament, so he was forced to wait until his screwed up relation came back to the room and helped him worship the porcelain god; he needed to go. Go NOW. So when Hohenheim finally burst in through the door in what could only be described as excitement, he was met up with a glare that sent chills down his back.

"Bathroom. NOW." And so, as to avoid his early death, the older man rushed to comply. Edward did his business, and hobbled back into bed, and Hohenheim distantly wondered, not for the first time, what sort of monster his child had grown into. Picking up the items he had placed on the desk that sat near the wall, he settled himself in the chair at Edward's bedside. He placed two makeshift automail parts onto the bed. Before Hohenheim could say anything, Edward took the replacements, raising an eyebrow at his guardian, scowling and shook the arm a bit, noting its lessened dexterity. He lined up the arm, and jammed it in the port, wincing as the nerves connected, and came to life.

"Where am I? Across the Gate?" Edward guessed, his voice slightly gruff from the pain. Hohenheim nodded.

"I did what I could about your automail. I didn't even know you had it. It can't move as well as the type that Pinako created, but I did my best. It should let you move rather freely, compared to the prosthetics of this age." Edward moved the sheets away, and attached the leg prosthetic. He sat still, adjusting, before he began to test out his limbs. They were nowhere as good as the Rockbell's automail, but they would make do.

"What happened to my old automail?" Edward asked, pinning a suspicious gaze on Hohenheim.

"I found you like this, on the bed. You had arrays on your forehead, and your flesh arm. Your automail lay next to you, but it was already slightly broken apart. So, I did what I could to repair it. There's no way to fix it otherwise on this side of the Gate. Automail doesn't exist here."

Edward turned to him in shock. "What! But, there are those flying machines…"

Hohenheim sighed wearily. "We may have advanced aerial technology here, but we don't have the prosthetics on the level of Amestris. As far as I know, your actual body was transported here, so there's no way to get back. I'm sorry." Edward stared at him incredulously, his eyes disbelieving.

"There's…..no way to get back?" his voice carried in a whisper, stricken. "But, last time…."

"Last time, you weren't really here. Your soul was being contained in your alter self. You, your body, your soul, are here right now. This time, there's no way to get back."

Edward's hands, both false and flesh, curled into fists. He gritted his teeth. "If there isn't a way to get back, I'll make one."

Hohenheim sat, stunned for a moment, before his features dissolved into a kind, fatherly smile. "I'm sure you can."

Chapter One: Miracle

Edward: The flame like rays of sunset shine upon your back and my hands grow cold when I cannot reach you

So, that is chapter one of Verisimilitude! Just a few things to say before I go: one, Verisimilitude means "the appearance or semblance of truth" or "having merely the appearance of truth". Second, the Edward song lyrics are from the Voice Song "Returnable Memories", translation taken from animelyrics(dot)com. Thank you and until next time (next time being Haptic Chapter 2)- Rowan


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